Bridgeport police officers converge in the food court as they patrol, during the 18th Annual Gathering of the Vibes music festival at Seaside Park in Bridgeport, Conn. on Friday July 26, 2013.

Bridgeport police officers converge in the food court as they patrol, during the 18th Annual Gathering of the Vibes music festival at Seaside Park in Bridgeport, Conn. on Friday July 26, 2013.

Photo: Christian Abraham

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A Bridgeport mounted police officer pauses during his patrol at the 18th Annual Gathering of the Vibes music festival at Seaside Park in Bridgeport, Conn. on Friday July 26, 2013.

A Bridgeport mounted police officer pauses during his patrol at the 18th Annual Gathering of the Vibes music festival at Seaside Park in Bridgeport, Conn. on Friday July 26, 2013.

Photo: Christian Abraham

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Bridgeport police officers watch foot traffic during their patrol at the 18th Annual Gathering of the Vibes music festival at Seaside Park in Bridgeport, Conn. on Friday July 26, 2013.

Bridgeport police officers watch foot traffic during their patrol at the 18th Annual Gathering of the Vibes music festival at Seaside Park in Bridgeport, Conn. on Friday July 26, 2013.

Photo: Christian Abraham

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Bridgeport mounted officer Herbie Mack and his horse Boots on patrol at the 18th Annual Gathering of the Vibes music festival at Seaside Park in Bridgeport, Conn. on Friday July 26, 2013.

Bridgeport mounted officer Herbie Mack and his horse Boots on patrol at the 18th Annual Gathering of the Vibes music festival at Seaside Park in Bridgeport, Conn. on Friday July 26, 2013.

Photo: Christian Abraham

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Bridgeport mounted officer Herbie Mack and his horse Boots on patrol at the 18th Annual Gathering of the Vibes music festival at Seaside Park in Bridgeport, Conn. on Friday July 26, 2013. At left is officer Ilidio Pereira.

Bridgeport mounted officer Herbie Mack and his horse Boots on patrol at the 18th Annual Gathering of the Vibes music festival at Seaside Park in Bridgeport, Conn. on Friday July 26, 2013. At left is officer

A man in his 20s died Friday of an apparent drug overdose at the Gathering of the Vibes, bringing back a tragic cloud that has twice shadowed the Bridgeport music festival in previous years.

City police have not released the identity of the man, who was found unresponsive at the festival's campgrounds as day two of the longstanding rock fest got into full swing.

City police spokesman William Kaempffer said the man was transported to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The death is under investigation but police believe it to be the result of "an apparent drug overdose," Kaempffer said.

City police were in the festival campgrounds speaking to patrons in the area of Main Beach, where Barnum Dyke meets Soundview Drive. Witnesses reported seeing an ambulance leave that area as well.

Kaempffer said the individual's name was being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

His eyes welling with tears, Vibes owner Ken Hays said his "heart goes out to his family and friends."

"It's with great sadness that earlier today we lost a member of the Gathering of the Vibes community," he said.

"Although at this point we don't know all of the specifics, what I do know is that life is short. Every morning when we wake up, we should hug those closest to us and express our love for them because tomorrow never knows."

The apparent overdose on Friday marked the third such death since 2009 at Vibes, a festival that largely draws its appeal from the reincarnation of the music and culture of the hippie era.

In the early morning hours of July 26, 2009, Jay Caliro, 29, of East Meadow, N.Y., was found dead. His death was later attributed to an accidental overdose, marking the first fatality in the history of the festival.

The following year, 23-year-old Elizabeth Meryl Miller, of Memphis, Tenn., was found having a seizure inside the campground and a Bridgeport police officer revived her.

She was transported to St. Vincent's Medical Center, where she died two days later. An autopsy later determined her death resulted from "multiple drug toxicity."

Festival organizers brought in a greater city police presence in the wake of the 2009 Vibes, which brought the event under law enforcement scrutiny due to the prevalence of nitrous oxide at the festival that year and questions about how confiscated narcotics were handled by security.

The FBI investigated the availability of the substance after more than 100 confiscated canisters of nitrous oxide went missing. Vibes organizer Hays told the Connecticut Post in 2010 that the festival had provided documents to investigators.

The city also instituted an ordinance banning nitrous oxide, which is commonly known as "laughing gas" and is typically sold inside balloons.

While drug use is something of an accepted part of the festival for participants, the death on Friday brought a lurking danger to light.

"It's weird that it happened like that," said Nelson Hearn, adding that he was about 100 feet from the overdose when it occurred. "People, especially some of these young kids, don't know moderation."

Hearn, who came from New Jersey for the "laid back" Vibes, said while drugs are present at the festival they need not dominate one's experience.

"It's one of those things you have to live with," he said. "The drugs are there but if you choose not to notice it it's not there."